Parents List Babies' Names On Petition Seeking Ban On Fireworks During Diwali

The parents of the three babies, all residents of the world’s most polluted capital aged six months and under, argue that they have a constitutional right to breathe clean air.

Three Delhi-based infants have been named in a petition urging the Supreme Court to ban fireworks in New Delhi, saying pollution created by crackers poses danger to their health.

The parents of the three babies, all residents of the world’s most polluted capital aged six months and under, argue that they have a constitutional right to breathe clean air.

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They say children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, which can cause a range of problems from lung disease to retarded development of the nervous system, and want the court to ban the sale and use of smoke-belching firecrackers.

India’s Supreme Court allows minors to file petitions through their parents where there is a threat to their fundamental rights.

The petition was filed on September 29, six weeks before the Hindu festival of light known as Diwali, when Delhi neighborhoods traditionally fill with acrid smoke from celebratory firecrackers set off day and night.

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“The imminent advent of festivals that involve widespread fireworks are a clear and present danger to the health of the applicants and the other children who are residents of Delhi,” it said.

Source-AFP

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